President Trump said Tuesday he could solve Chicago’s crime epidemic “quickly and permanently” and urged left-wing Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to call him — after 39 people were shot in the Windy City over the weekend.
The president’s plea came just two days after he claimed he could make the Windy City one of the safest in America after the weekend of bloodshed.
“At least 39 people were injured and four killed in shootings in Chicago,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Governor Pritzker, I, as President, can fix this, FAST and permanently.
“DC, Memphis, New Orleans, all down to record lows, and fast. CALL ME! President DJT.”
Trump claimed four people were killed in shootings – but Chicago police say the number of fatalities was six. WLS reported.
More than 500 people have been shot in Chicago this year, according to police data released last month quoted by WTTW. This is an increase of 9% compared to May 2025.
Two drive-by shooters who opened fire in Princeton Park injured 13 people, police said.
Initially, police said 12 people were injured – before adding that one man, 26, was injured and refused medical treatment.
The drive-by shooting happened just after 11 p.m. in the Princeton Park neighborhood during a Juneteenth celebration when two thugs in a red SUV opened fire on the gathering before driving away, police said.
Police found a 32-year-old woman shot twice in the back and a 44-year-old man whose back had been grazed by four bullets. Both were rushed to local hospitals in stable condition, police said.
Other victims included a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman who were each shot in the thigh, along with a 32-year-old man who was shot in the head, according to police.
Local councilor Anthony Beale said he was “heartbroken by the senseless shooting.”
“Within seconds, an ordinary summer evening was destroyed by gunfire,” he said.
“Lives were turned upside down, families were plunged into fear, and an entire community was reminded how quickly violence can change everything. No one should have to wonder if they or someone they love will make it home safely. This is the cruel reality of the mindless threat of gun violence in our city.”
Violence also broke out on Chicago’s West Side on Saturday and 18-year-old Aniyhas Jackson died after being shot in the armpit. Police arrested a 17-year-old boy as part of their investigation.
A 21-year-old man was killed early Sunday morning after being shot on the South Side, police said.
Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has rejected Trump’s calls for help.
“This is the president who thought he could hire an unqualified company to paint the reflecting pool, then thought it would just be free of algae. And yet days later it turned into a sea of algae,” he said, mocking the $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“And this is the same president who didn’t know that the Strait of Hormuz could be closed, essentially closed, by Iran if he went to war with Iran.
“I don’t think we should listen to this president about any promises he makes or that he has any idea how to protect us in the state of Illinois.”
Trump has previously branded Chicago a “hellhole” and compared the city to a “war zone,” threatening to send in the National Guard to tackle crime.
Last December, the Supreme Court blocked Trump from sending the National Guard to Chicago as part of an operation to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Trump turned to the nation’s highest court in an attempt to overturn a lower court ruling that had been upheld by the appeals court.
Trump’s justification for the attempted troop deployment in the Windy City took advantage of a law that allows the president to take over the National Guard if he is unable to carry out the law with “regular troops.”
“So, at least in this stance, the government has not borne the burden of demonstrating that [the statute in question] permits the President to federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois,” the Supreme Court wrote in its decision.
Pritzker has emphasized that the US does not need the National Guard to help fight crime.
“We fought crime. We tried to prevent crime and it worked,” he said in August 2025.
With Postal Wires.
